fbpx

The Grass is Greener Indoors

Montana Sports Indoors aims to give kids of all ages a chance to play in the great indoors

By Justin Franz
Christopher Fannon heads a ball during an indoor soccer game at Montana Sports Indoors at the Flathead County Fairgrounds on Nov. 22, 2016. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

On the day before Thanksgiving, as the first significant snowfall of the season started to blanket the valley floor, Nate Evans and Harald Heinrich stood at the edge of a bright green field. While most fields have faded from green to brown, this one was still spring green.

“The grass is greener indoors,” Heinrich said, with a smile.

“And we don’t even have to water it or cut it,” Evans added.

The lack of lawn work is because their 25,000-square-foot field is artificial and is the heart of their new venture, Montana Sports Indoors. Earlier this year, Evans, the executive director, and Heinrich, the director of operations, worked out a deal to set up shop inside the Flathead County Fairgrounds Trade Center in Kalispell, which sits mostly unused during the winter. Now, kids of all ages have a chance to play on the grass year-round.

Evans, who played soccer for Rocky Mountain College in Billings until graduating in 2012, said he first came up with the idea of establishing an indoor sports facility a few years ago when he visited Iceland. Like Northwest Montana, Iceland has long winters, limiting year-round soccer opportunities. To make up for that disadvantage, the country has invested heavily in establishing indoor soccer arenas. In the early 2000s, the government commissioned the construction of 15 publicly owned indoor soccer fields and dozens of smaller “mini-pitches” around the country. Since then, the country’s FIFA rankings have soared; in 2016, Iceland became the smallest country to ever qualify for a major international soccer tournament.

However, Evans didn’t act on the idea until earlier this year when he was coaching a local youth indoor soccer team that played at the county fairgrounds. Evans said he realized that having kids play sports on concrete floors was not only dangerous, but it didn’t help them advance as athletes.

Evans said people in past years had talked about establishing an indoor sports facility in the Flathead, but the idea always died during the warm days of summer. So Evans teamed up with Heinrich and worked throughout the year to raise funds to purchase enough artificial turf for two futsal fields (futsal is a sport derived from soccer that is played on a much smaller field).

Heinrich is originally from Germany and is a certified United States Soccer Federation coach who previously worked with the Colorado Rapids youth soccer league in Denver. He said that indoor facilities are common in metropolitan areas and can help local players advance their game.

“I have coached soccer all over the country, and the kids here are just as talented as they are anywhere,” he said.

Evans said the facility would also give kids and adults something to do during the short, cold days of winter.

“There are limited entertainment options for kids in winter — not everyone can go skiing every day — but now kids can come here after school and play soccer if they want,” he said.

Besides maintaining the turf, Montana Sports Indoors is also organizing various indoor soccer leagues, including boys and girls youth teams and adult co-ed leagues. There are also Friday night drop-in games for players 16 and older who want to try it out without having to sign up for a whole season. Evans said the field could also be used for other sports, including lacrosse, and encouraged teams from across the valley to reach out to them about using the facility.

The business is also looking for sponsors to maintain the facility and so far have enlisted the help of the Hampton Inn, Keller Williams Realty and the Tanko Law Office, to name a few. Evans said Flathead County officials have also been extremely helpful in getting the new public-private partnership off the ground.

“It’s amazing because back in February this was just an idea,” Evans said. “We’re getting a ton of great feedback from the community.”

Evans and Heinrich said they hope to purchase two more fields for next winter and start hosting large tournaments in the future.

“Our main goal is to give kids a safe place to play sports in the winter,” he said.

For more information, visit www.montanasportsindoors.com.